Third Week after Easter
From Dom Guéranger's The Liturgical Year.
℣. In resurrectione tua, Christe, alleluia.
℟. Cœli et terra lætentur, alleluia.
℣. In thy resurrection, O Christ, alleluia.
℟. Let heaven and earth rejoice, alleluia.
THERE is nothing on earth so grand, nothing so exalted, as the princes of the Church—the pastors, appointed by the Son of God—who are to follow on, in unbroken succession, to the end of time: but let us not suppose that the subjects of this vast empire, called the Church, are devoid of dignity and greatness. The Christian people, in which both prince and beggar are equally subjects, is superior to every other, in intellectual and moral worth. It carries civilization with it, wheresoever it goes, for it carries with it the true notion of God and of the supernatural end of man. Barbarism recedes; pagan institutions, how ancient soever they may be, are forced to give way. Even Greece and Rome laid down their own laws to adopt those of the Christian code—the code which was based on the Gospel. So, too, in our own times, the mere sight of a Christian army, though composed of but a few thousand men, struck terror into the heart of an immense empire of the East: its ruler who counts four hundred million subjects, and calls himself the ‘Son of the Celestial Empire, was so overcome by fear that without offering the slightest resistance he fled from his palaces and capital. Yes, this is the superiority given by baptism to Christian nations; for it would be absurd to attribute this superiority to our civilization, seeing that civilization itself is but a consequence of baptism.
But if the outward bearing of the Christian people be such as to exercise an influence on even infidels, what must not be that dignity which faith teaches us is its inheritance? The Apostle St Peter—the universal shepherd, into whose hands the divine Shepherd placed the keys—thus describes the flock entrusted to his care: You are a chosen generation, a kingly priesthood, a holy nation, a purchased people; that you may declare his virtues, who hath called you out of' darkness into his marvellous light.[1]So, indeed, it is; divine truth is entrusted to this people, and its light can never be extinguished among them. When the teaching authority has, with its infallibility, to proclaim a solemn definition in doctrinal matters, it first appeals to the faith of the Christian people; and the sentence declares that to be the truth which has been believed ‘everywhere, always, and by all.’[2] Amidst the Christian people there exists that strangest phenomenon under heaven, union of mind; whereby there is one common faith amidst nations the most opposite to each other in every other respect. Let them be as hostile to one another as you please; in matters of faith, in submission to their pastors, they are all one and the same great family. The most admirable, at times the most heroic virtues are to be found amidst this people, for Jesus has given it a large share of that element of holiness wherewith his grace has enriched human nature.
Observe, too, how affectionately it is protected and honoured by its pastors! Every pastor, no matter what may be his rank in the Church, is bound, in virtue of his office, to lay down his life for his sheep, if called upon to do it. The sacrifice is not even counted as an act of heroism; it is a strict duty. Shame and curse upon the pastor who flees through cowardice! The Redeemer stigmatizes such a one with the name of hireling. Hence it is, that during these last eighteen hundred years, there have been so many thousands of pastors who have given their lives for their flocks. One or other of their names are to be found in every page of the Church’s history. The list is headed by St Peter, who was crucified like his divine Master; it continues down to the Bishops of Cochin-China, Tonkin, and Corea, whose recent martyrdoms attest that the pastor has not ceased to consider himself as a victim for his flock. Thus, before confiding his lambs and sheep to Peter, Jesus asks him if he have greater love than the rest. If Peter love his Master, he will love his Master’s lambs and sheep; he will love them even to laying down his life for them. For this reason, after entrusting him with the care of the whole flock, our Saviour tells Peter that he is to die a martyr. Happy is that people whose rulers only exercise their authority on condition of being ready to die for these their Master’s sheep!
If one of these should evince in his life the marks which denote sanctity, and this so far as to deserve to be proposed to the faithful as a model and intercessor, you will not only see the priest whose word calls down the Son of God upon the altar, not only the bishop whose sacred hands wield the pastoral staff, but the very Vicar of Christ, humbly kneeling before the tomb or statue of the Servant of God, how poor or despised soever he or she may have been on this earth. This sacred hierarchy testifies the same sentiments of respect for the sheep of Christ on every occasion. Thus in a baptized babe, that knows not how to utter a single word, that is not counted among the citizens of the state, that, like a tender flower, may perhaps have faded before the close of day, yet does the pastor recognize in it a worthy member of the Body of Christ, the Church; he reverences it as a being that is enriched with gifts so sublime as to be an object of heaven’s love, and a source of blessing to all around it. When the Faithful are assembled in the house of God, and the sacred oblations and altar have been thurified, the Celebrant, as the representative of Christ, and any others of the clergy who may be in the sanctuary, are also honoured with the same mysterious tribute of homage: but the incense is to go beyond the sanctuary. The thurifer advances towards the people, and in the name of the Church, gives them the same honour as that just given to the pontiff and the clergy; for the faithful people are also members of Christ. Again: when the corpse of a Christian, even though he may have been the poorest of the poor, is carried into the house of God, observe what honour is paid to his mortal remains! On this occasion, also, the incense is made to express the affectionate homage wherewith the Church honours the Christian character of her children. O Christian people! how truly we may say of thee what Moses said of Israel: There is no other nation so great as thou![3]
It is our Risen Jesus that has procured us all this honour: let us express our love and gratitude in this canticle of the ancient Missal of Saint Gall.
Sequence
Laudum quis carmine
Unquam præevalet, regum summe,
Typica majestatis tuae Promere?
Qui Parenti supremo
Deitate coaequalis,
Omnia potestate pari disponis;
Nam ante hujus mundi exordia,
In Patre callebas Sophia;
Per quam facta sunt omnia,
Quæque profert
Triplex machina.
Qui cernens immersos esse barathro,
Tua quos adornat imago,
Propter nos factus es homo,
Ut nos solveres Sanguine tuo.
Hæc pridem signavit sub typo
Isaac parentis nostri immolatio,
Mactabatur aries
Pro quo Domino.
Te, Christe, passurum Pro mundo
Joseph prænotavit
Venditus in Ægypto,
Nunc daturus typicos victus populo.
Nam fueras præfiguratus
Infernum fracturus,
Cum Samson vir invictus
Leonem suffocavit,
Et portas hostiles Disrupit.
Tu, Domine, es suave rubens
Illius flos virgæ,
Quam fudit radix Jesse
Generosa germine,
Quod sunt præconati Prophetae.
Hæc nostris præstantur Patribus,
O Redemptor, ceu sub umbra primitus,
Quæ nos verius
Te monstrante cernimus.
Tu cuncta procul fugas nubila,
Terrae reddens tui vultus Lumina.
Quæ morte tua
Fuscabatur tremula.
Ecce nunc perspicuus
Cuncta ornantur
Elementa sereno,
Quia redisti victor Barathro.
Hinc et nos, o socii,
Mente Dominum
Sincera et humili
Simul laudemus
Carmine tali:
Sit Patri laus summo, qui levans
Criminum nos cœno,
Haud pepercit proprio
Propter nosmet Filio.
Laus quoque sit Nato,
Pro nobis qui factus est homo,
Ut solvens nos tartaro
Redderet paradiso.
Gloria compar sit Pneumati
Ævo omni.
Amen.
Who, O King of kings!
can worthily celebrate
the mysteries wrought by thy majesty?
God co-equal with the Father, Eternal,
thou rulest all things
with the selfsame power as his.
This world had not yet begun,
when thou wast,
in the bosom of the Father,
the Wisdom whereby all things were made,
yea all that compose this triple world.
Seeing that they who were adorned with thy image
had fallen into an abyss of misery,
thou wast made man for our sakes,
that by thy Blood thou mightest rescue us.
In figure of this
was the sacrifice of our father Isaac;
in whose stead
a ram was immolated unto the Lord.
Thy suffering for the world’s redemption
was prefigured by Joseph sold into Egypt,
where he fed the people
with mysterytelling food.
Thy crushing hell
was foreshadowed
by the invincible Samson
slaying a lion
and breaking his enemies’ gates.
Thou, O Lord, art the sweet ruddy
Flower of the Branch
that nobly grew
from Jesse's root,
as sang the Prophets of old.
All these things, O Redeemer!
were shown, in a shadow, to our Fathers;
thou hast shown them to us in their truth.
Thou dispellest all clouds,
and makest the light of thy countenance
to shine once more on the earth,
that had been thrown into darkness
and fear by thy death.
Lo! now all creation beams
in beauteous light,
because thou hast returned
in victory from the tomb.
Let us, then, brethren,
with upright
and humble hearts,
unite in praising
thus our God:
Praise be to the Father Almighty,
who, to raise us from the mire of our sins,
spared not his own Son,
for our sake.
Praise, too, to the Son,
who to ransom us from hell,
and restore us to heaven,
was made Man for our sake.
Glory co-equal be to the Holy Spirit,
for ever.
Amen.
[1] 1 St Pet. ii 9.
[2] St Vincent of Lerins: Commonitorium.
[3] Deut. iv 7.
From Dom Guéranger's The Liturgical Year.
℣. In resurrectione tua, Christe, alleluia.
℟. Cœli et terra lætentur, alleluia.
℣. In thy resurrection, O Christ, alleluia.
℟. Let heaven and earth rejoice, alleluia.
THE Saturday brings us back to Mary. Let us again contemplate her prerogatives; and yet, whilst so doing, let us still keep our thoughts on holy Church, which has been the subject of our meditations during this week. Let us, to-day, consider the relations existing between Mary and the Church: they will make us the better understand these two mothers of mankind.
Before taking possession of the Church, which was to be proclaimed before all nations on the day of Pentecost, the Man-God made a worthy prelude to this kingly possession by uniting himself with her, who is so deservedly styled the mother and representative of the human race. This was Mary. Of the family of David, Abraham and Sem; immaculate, from the first moment of her existence, as were our first parents when they came from their Creator's hands; and destined for the grandest honour which could be conferred on a mere creature; Mary was, during her sojourn here on earth, the inheritance and co-operatrix of the Incarnate Word: she was the Mother of all the living.[1] She, in her single person, was what the Church, collectively, has been from the day of its foundation. Her office of Mother of God surpasses all her other glories; still, we must not overlook, but on the contrary admire and love them.
Mary was the first creature that fully corresponded with the intentions which induced the Son of God to come down from heaven. He found in her the most lively faith, the firmest hope, and the most fervent love. Never had human nature, perfected by grace, offered to God an object so worthy of his acceptance. Before celebrating his union with the human race, as its Shepherd, Jesus was the Shepherd of this single sheep, whose merits and dignity surpass those of the rest of mankind, even supposing it to have been always and in all things faithful to its God.
Mary, therefore, represented the Christian Church before it existed in itself. The Son of God found in her not only a Mother, but the faithful worshipper of his Divinity from the first moment of his Incarnation. We saw on Holy Saturday how Mary’s faith withstood the test of Calvary and the tomb, and how this faith, which never faltered, kept alive on the earth the light which was never to be quenched, and which was soon to be confided to the collective Church, whose mission was to win over all nations to the divine Shepherd.
It was not Jesus’ will that his Blessed Mother should exercise a visible and outward postulate, save in a limited degree. Besides, he was not to leave her here till the end of time. But, just in the same way as, from the day of his Ascension, he made his Church co-operate with him in all that he does for his elect, so likewise did he will, during his mortal life, that Mary should have her share in all the works done by him for our salvation. She, whose formal consent had been required before the Eternal Word took flesh in her womb, was present, as we have already seen, at the foot of the Cross, in order that she, as a creature, might offer him, who offered himself as God, our Redeemer. The Mother’s sacrifice blended with that of the Son, and this raised her up to a degree of merit which the human mind could never calculate. Thus it is, though in a less perfect manner, the Church unites herself, in unity of oblation, with her divine Spouse, in the sacrifice of the Altar. It was to be on the day of Pentecost that the Church’s maternity would be proclaimed to the world; Mary was invested with the office of Mother of men, as Jesus was hanging upon his Cross. When his Side was opened with the spear, that the Church, born from the Water and Blood of Redemption, might come forth, Mary was there to receive into her arms this future mother, whom she had hitherto so fully represented.
In a few days we shall behold Mary in the Cenacle; the Holy Ghost will enrich her with new gifts, and we shall have to study her mission in the early Church. Let us close the considerations we have been making to-day by drawing a parallel between our two Mothers, who, though one is so far above the other in dignity, are nevertheless closely united to each other.
Our heavenly Mother, who is also the Mother of Jesus, is ever assisting our earthly Mother, the Church, with heavenly aid. Mary exercises over her, in each of her existences—Militant, Suffering or Triumphant—an influence of power and love. She procures to the Church the victories she wins; she enables her to go through the tribulations and trials which beset her path. The children of one are children of the other; both have a share in giving us spiritual birth—one, the 'Mother of divine grace,1 by her all-powerful prayers; the other, by the word of God and holy baptism. If when we depart this life, our admission to the beatific vision is to be retarded on account of our sins, and our souls are to descend to the abode of Purgatory, the suffrages of our earthly Mother will follow us, and alleviate or shorten our sufferings; but our heavenly Mother will do still more for us during that period of expiation, so awful and yet so just. In heaven the elect are rejoiced at the sight of the Church Triumphant, though she be still Militant on earth; and who can describe the joy these happy children must feel at seeing the glory of the Mother that begot them in Christ? but with how much gladder ecstasy must not these same citizens of heaven gaze upon Mary, that other Mother of theirs, who was their Star on the stormy sea of life, who never ceased to watch over them with most loving care, who procured them countless aids to salvation, and who, when they entered heaven, received them into those same maternal arms which heretofore carried the divine Fruit of her womb—that First-Born,[2] whose brothers and joint-heirs we are called to be!
As long as we dwell in this vale of tears, which is now being turned into a paradise by the presence of our Risen Jesus, let us sometimes think of Mary's joys. Last Saturday we borrowed a hymn from the ancient Churches of Germany, in order to celebrate her Seven Joys; let, us do the same to-day.
SEQUENCE
Gaude Virgo, stella maris,
Sponsa Christi singularis,
Jocundata nimium
Per salutis nuntium:
A peccatis nos emunda,
Casta Mater et fœcunda,
Et suprema gaudia
Nostro cordi nuntia.
Gaude Mater illibata,
Quæ tam mire fœcundata
Genuisti filium,
Velut sidus radium;
Fac nos quoque salutari
Partu semper fœcundari.
Atque corde steriles
Fac clementer fertiles.
Gaude florens lilium,
Cujus novum filium
Magi cum muneribus
Placant flexis genibus;
O felix puerpera,
Nos illorum munera
Deo ferre tribue
Semper et assidue.
Gaude Parens, cujus natus
Jam in templo præsentatus
Simeonis manibus
Tollitur cum laudibus:
Confer nobis, supplicamus,
Ut et illum nos geramus
Puris semper cordibus
Et sinceris mentibus.
Gaude, qui tripudio
Laetabaris nimio,
Resurgente filio
Mortis ab imperio:
Fac a nostro scelere,
Pia, nos resurgere,
Sursum tolle variis
Cor oppressum vitiis.
Gaude, quæ felicibus
Conspexisti visibus
Ire tuum filium
Ad paternum solium:
Da, ut ejus reditum,
Hujus vitæ terminum,
Valeamus libere
Sine metu cernere.
Gaude, Virgo virginum,
Quam post vitæ terminum
Dulcis Jesu dextera
Vexit super sidera:
Praesta nobis miseris
Sublevamen sceleris,
Et post hanc miseriam
Duc ad veram patriam.
Amen.
Rejoice, O Virgin, Star of the Sea,
dearest Spouse of Christ!
for the angel of our salvation
announced to thee an exceeding great joy.
Cleanse us from our sins,
O Virgin Mother!
and speak to our heart
of the joys that never end.
Rejoice, O spotless Mother!
in that thou didst conceive of the Holy Ghost,
and bring forth thy Child,
as the star emits its ray.
Grant that we may ever be fruitful
in works of salvation.
Take these barren hearts of ours,
and by thy merciful prayers make them fertile.
Rejoice, O beautiful Lily!
at the adoration and gifts
paid by the Magi
to thy new-born Babe.
O happy Mother!
pray that we may ever imitate them,
and give to God
what their gifts signified.
Rejoice, O Mother!
at the praises spoken by Simeon,
when, at thy presenting Jesus in the Temple,
he took the Child in his arms.
Grant, we beseech thee,
that we may serve thy Son
with purity
and earnestness of heart.
Rejoice, and with
all thy soul’s power
be glad at thy Son's rising
from the grasp of death.
Mercifully obtain for us
that we may rise from our sins,
and have our hearts set free
from the pressure of its many vices.
Rejoice in that thou hadst
the happiness to see thy Son
ascend into heaven,
where he is seated on his Father’s throne.
Grant that at the end
of the world
we may without fear
welcome his return.
Rejoice, O Virgin of virgins!
who after thy life’s course was run,
wast raised up
by thy sweet Jesus above the stars.
Grant that we miserable creatures
may be raised from our sins,
and after this miserable life
be led to our true country.
Amen.
[1] Gen. iii 20.
[2] St Lake ii 7.